Owner reflects on his father’s legacy on Al’s birthday
The Fourth of July is a special holiday for Las Vegas Raiders’ owner Mark Davis. In a way, the summer fireworks that fill the nighttime skies on Independence Day are an ode to his father, legendary Raiders and NFL icon Al Davis. Al passed away in 2011, but this past Friday would have been his 96th birthday.
Reflecting on his father’s legacy, Mark told Paul Gutierrez of Raiders.com that the bittersweet part of the franchise’s move to Las Vegas is that Al isn’t around to see it.
“He would have loved this,” the current owner said. “He loved Las Vegas. He loved sitting out in the sun. He’d bring his weights with him, his barbell and weights, because they didn’t have gyms in the hotels back then. That’s how he’d travel. He’d work out. Relax. He and my mom would go to a nice dinner and see a show. All right before training camp. It was a great time. My dad was treated very nicely by the people.”
Davis would go on to say that the family would frequently take vacations in Sin City and visit the city for Al’s birthday when he was growing up. From the sounds of it, those trips laid the foundation for the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas.
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